


Lunar Illness

by QueenofAngstandSin



Category: Portal (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Android GLaDOS, Android Wheatley, Chell is not OK, Chell is sick, Dreams and Nightmares, GLaDOS got attached whoops, GLaDOS has memories deep down of being Caroline, GLaDOS? Caring about someone? More likely than you think, Gen, Illnesses, Mute Chell (Portal), No One Is Okay, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Portal 2 Spoilers, Redemption, Slow To Update, Terminal Illnesses, They're humanoid androids, This just makes it easier for me, Wheatley has a inferiority complex that's disguised as a superiority complex., Wheatley is a dick, Wheatley is chaotic dumbass, Wheatley is terrified of GLaDOS, Who Knows?, as he should be, maybe some romance?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:07:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26184691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenofAngstandSin/pseuds/QueenofAngstandSin
Summary: In hindsight maybe Chell shouldn't have been reckless enough to let herself be doused in the conversion gel while trying to escape Old Aperture. She had heard Cave Johnson's coughing, and heard him say how toxic it was.She just didn't think it'd start affecting her as fast as it did, and nearly being blown up by Wheatley certainly did not help.Now she's stuck dying with one AI who has a superiority complex and another who's a megalomaniac.Honestly? She kinda wishes these two assholes would just kill her and be done with it.
Relationships: Chell & GLaDOS, Chell & Wheatley (Portal), GLaDOS & Wheatley
Comments: 4
Kudos: 63





	1. He Won

Chell peered out from the wall, listening to Wheatley yelling for her to come back, rage seeping into his voice. The former test subject slid down the wall to rest, each breath rattling in her lungs. Something was wrong, GLaDOS knew something was wrong.

"What are you doing? That moron will find us if you sit here!" She hissed. Chell shook her head before going into a fit of coughing, putting the portal gun down to start signing to the AI.

_Can't breathe right, I need a minute._

_"We don't HAVE a minute!"_ GLaDOS began searching through her memories. Chell was having trouble breathing when they started the "trials" with the conversion gel, but she didn't think anything was going to...

" _And guess what? Ground up moon rocks are pure poison. I am deathly ill._ "

The recordings. That _familiar voice,_ he revealed conversion gel was ground up moon rock and it was toxic. It's why he started making the Generic Lifeform and Disk Operating System-why he made _her_. To prolong his life. _And what did he do? Put poor little Caroline in instead._ The memories of Caroline's life were buried deep inside her, but she was sure it had been agony.

GLaDOS looked up at Chell. She was getting pale, she now realized, it had been too dark to tell back in Old Aperture. But Mr. Johnson didn't feel the effect this fast. Then again...Chell had open wounds. Lacerations from shards of metal and broken glass, scrapes from being tossed around. The poison would have went straight into her bloodstream, it'd still be a slow death, a painful death, but she felt the effects much faster. The woman wiped saliva from her mouth, picking up the portal gun again before moving on before Wheatley could find them.

_______________________________________________________________________

_"Go press the button! Go press it!"_

"Do not press that button!"

_"Press it!"_

"No!"

_"Press the button!"_

"No!"

Chell held back her coughing, running towards the button. This would end it, GLaDOS would be back in control, Wheatley would be punished ~~(Why did she feel so much grief? He wasn't her friend, he proved he was never her friend)~~ and Chell...

Well, she was already dying, might as well speed it up.

"Don't press it!" Wheatley cried in protest. "I _forbid_ you to press it!"

Chell slowed as she approached the button, reaching for it. _It's time to end this._

Suddenly the wall behind it lifted, and three bombs suddenly detonated. Chell was thrown back, clothes being scorched, shrapnel digging into her flesh. She gasped for air, what little breath she had knocked out of her. She was certain she had a broken rib, or multiple. Her ears were ringing, but she could still hear Wheatley talking. _Does he ever shut up?_

"PART FIVE! BOOBYTRAP THE STALEMATE BUTTON!" The personality core cheered before realizing Chell was still breathing. "Wait-WHAT? Are you seriously still alive? You are joking. You HAVE GOT to be kidding me! Well, I'm still in control!" Chell let him ramble as she looked up at the moon, realization hitting her. _Conversion gel is made from ground up moon rock._

She looked to the portal gun that she had dropped, then reached for it. "Oh, brilliant, yeah. Take one more look at your precious human moon. Because it cannot- _oh no you don't!_ "

Chell had never seen GLaDOS get up off the chassis. Then again, until she confronted the AI years ago, she hadn't actually _seen_ GLaDOS. During their battle, she hadn't bothered to get up when they were fighting, she didn't need to.

So needless to say, when footsteps quickly approached, then a sharp pointed shoe connected to a long, thin leg suddenly kicked the portal gun away from her, Chell found herself shocked. She glanced up, seeing he was still connected by long wires extending from his back. Wheatley forced her onto her stomach, stepping on her back and pinnng her down.

"Who's a moron now?" He sneered. "Did you think I was dumb enough to not notice? Those files on the conversion gel and what it's made of? _I have them._ "

 _"Then you know what's happening to her."_ GLaDOS challenged. _"The gel, it's toxic to humans."_

"So?" Wheatley scoffed. "It doesn't matter. She doesn't look sick-"

Before he could finish, Chell went into another coughing fit. There was the intense taste of iron in her mouth and she was suddenly aware of the fact that as she coughed, blood was being spit from her mouth.

Wheatley's foot disappeared, and he took a few steps back. "Wha- did she swallow the gel?" He sounded genuinely surprised. "Was there a red gel? What did that do?"

_"It's blood you fool! Connect me back to the mainfraim and I can-"_

"No. No, you'll kill me!" The android whirled around. "Why do you care anyway, _PotatOS_? The turrets, the neurotoxin- you wanted her dead anyway! And so what if she dies! I don't care! I can clone her, or make some braindamaged AI to replicate her! I don't care!"

 _"Lies!"_ GLaDOS snarled. _"Connect me or we all die!"_

"No!"

Chell grabbed Wheatley's leg. For once she tried to speak, a raspy, broken noise escaping her, but no words. She tried propping herself up, placing her other hand over her chest and moving it in a clockwise motion.

_Please._

Wheatley hesitated, eyes burning. Chell hated how lifelike their eyes and expressions were. She didn't want to think of Wheatley as a human, not after what he did. "She'll kill me. Do you want me dead?"

Chell repeated the motion. She was pretty sure it was one of the only signs he knew, even with all of the mainframe's knowledge at his dispersal.

_"You'll die anyway if you don't. You don't know how-"_

"Then tell me!" Wheatley snapped, cutting off GLaDOS again. "Tell me how to fix it."

Chell tuned them and their argument out, looking up at the moon. It was their one chance and she blew it. Wheatley wasn't going to give up power now, and until GLaDOS was in her body she had no chance to force him to give up power. Not that she could.

**"Self-destruct sequence deactivated."**

_What?_ Had he actually given up power to GLaDOS? Chell turned her head back to the chassis, where Wheatley still sat. But he was actually working, GLaDOS, still a potato, on his lap and begrudgingly instructing him what to do, what seemed to be a holographic screen in front of him. Wheatley glanced up at her, pushed aside the screen for a moment(despite GLaDOS's immediate protest, she really did not know when to stop pushing this guy) and hit a button.

Gas began to fill the room, immediately sending Chell into a state of panic. But she recognized it wasn't the smell of neurotoxin.

 _"What the fuck are you doing?"_ GLaDOS almost shrieked. _"Are you trying to kill her!?"_

"Relax," Chell barely heard Wheatley's reply. "It's anesthesia, I _can_ still read, ya know. Now I'll put you back in your body, but then you better fix her. Or you're going back in the potato."


	2. Settling Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things have settled down...for now.

Wheatley sighed, sinking back into chassis for what had to be the third time. It wasn't particularly comfortable, the back made the wires dig into his spine uncomfortably and the longer he sat the more _the itch_ bothered him.

Shamefully, almost blowing up his ( ~~former, you betrayed her you tried to murder her no wonder she hates you~~ )ex-friend had satisfied it for now. Actually _winning_ all on his own felt amazing. Though he didn't think he should feel that way.

He had put GLaDOS back into her body as promised. He hated her body, she was unnaturally gray, but a pale shade that matched her clean look, lines ran across where different segments connected. Her hair was short and white, her neck and any other part meant to be flexible was black. Her nails were sharp, able to damaged his fragile outer covering, something she lacked. She was slender and tall, much taller than himself or the lady, and her eyes glowed like a flame.

He didn't know what else to compare her eyes to. They changed sometimes. When she had been connected to the mainframe her eyes were yellow, with only a large pupil to add anything else. Sometimes her pupils disappeared, usually when she was doing something that required all of her focus. He prefered her eyes that way. Now her eyes were black, with only her electric yellow irises to separate her pupil from the rest of her eye. He felt like she could stare into his very soul.

What coverage she DID have was a tight black-and-white one piece, complete with tight, black gloves. On one breast was her name-GLaDOS, and on the back was the company name and logo. While on the mainframe she wore a beautiful white, elegant dress with a almost transparent cape that would have dragged along the floor.

Wheatley much preferred his own body. He was thin and his proportions didn't match the lady's or GLaDOS's(who was modeled after...someone specific, he couldn't remember anymore). His nose was pointed, his body unnaturally scrawny and sharp. He had messy, light brown hair that almost looked more like a dirty blonde and bright blue eyes. His covering was pale, but not unnaturally so, and his face was speckled with dots the lady had written were "freckles". She claimed they were cute. His clothes were pretty nice, too, a clean, white dress shirt with a round collar under a light gray vest and a blue tie. His pants were dark gray and his pointed shoes were black. When she had first seen him, she wrote down that he looked like a "Disney" character, whatever that was.

He, like all personality cores, looked friendly and lively, unless they needed to be in sphere form to...do whatever personality cores did when they needed to be little metal balls. 

_Or at least I_ used _to look like that._

The thing was, connecting to the mainframe changed you physically, apparently. Maybe that's why it hurt? He still wore his dress shirt, but it was hidden by a dark gray suit with a pointed, almost jagged collar. His tie was black now instead of the nice blue he preferred, he wore thick black gloves and he just overall looked...darker. Running a hand through his hair he felt that it wasn't messy, but brushed back neatly. There were no mirrors, no way to see his own face, but he didn't really want to. He was pretty sure his eyes looked like _her's_ now and he hated it. Briefly he remembered how she looked corrupted, black eyes with yellow pupils and circuits running down her face.

Wheatley shuddered, quickly summoning robotic arms to take away the corrupt cores the lady put on him before they could do anything else to him. He hoped it'd undo the corruption. He was fine. It was fine. Summoning a screen, he peered into the room where GLaDOS currently worked on the unconscious woman. She had yelled and screamed about how _stupid_ he was, how he didn't know what dosage of _anything_ was appropriate for her, how he could kill her.

He repeated that _he_ was in control, he didn't care about the lady, he'd make entirely new test subjects if he had to! He then told her to do her job before he changed his mind and killed them both.

_Speaking of..._

He cleared his throat, immediately cut off by GLaDOS. _"She's the exact same as the last seven times you called, King Dumbass."_

"That's a new one." He muttered. "Damage report? I don't think I've asked that yet, have I? How is the-"

_"Chell."_

"What?" Wheatley jolted, and a chill ran down his spine seeing her glaring at him with what he could only describe as pure hate.

 _"Her name is Chell. Clearly you didn't bother to ever learn it. Guess you didn't care THAT much."_ GLaDOS snarled. _"You know, you used to talk about how horrible I was, but I never pretended to be her friend."_

"Don't give me that." Wheatley snarled, trying to shove away the guilt. ~~(She was going to leave him, abandon him, she wasn't his friend, she was using him, _why did he feel like this?_ )~~ "We're not human, why should we care? We're immortal, she's not."

 _"That's a bold assumption."_ GLaDOS turned away.

"What?"

_"Did you really watch those videos? In order to prolong his life, Cave Johnson started to develop a robot to put his consciousness into. He died, and so the robot, named the Generic Lifeform and Disk Operating System, was modeled after his secretary. You know what they did to that poor girl? They killed her, and put her consciousness in the robot, and she watched them do it with every core meant to deter her and her homicidal rage."_

"Stop talking."

_"You were human, too. You were a moron even then. I have no clue how you were ever hired. There was no point, I suppose, you couldn't even do this one thing needed of you."_

_"Shut up."_

_"You were supposed to die a whole month sooner than you did. But they didn't trust you to show up and killed you earl-"_

" _I SAID **SHUT UP!**_ "

Wheatley didn't know what he did, but suddenly GLaDOS was screaming, collapsing on the floor as she was electrocuted. He froze up, not having meant to actually harm her, but he shook his head, she deserved it. "Just give me the damned status report."

GLaDOS got to her feet, glaring at him. _"...Potentially lethal conversion gel poisoning, three fractured ribs and one broken one. Severe burns to her arm, chest and stomach, lesser burns to her sides. Bullet wounds and lacerations, which are all going to get infected if you don't allow me access to proper supplies to clean them."_

"Fine, just...do whatever you need to do. I'll just...go over old security footage, I guess."

 _"To find something to use against us?"_ GLaDOS guessed.

"Finding something to use against you would be nice, but I'm just curious about something."

_____________________________________________

GLaDOS glared at the screen as it went black, then turned back to Chell. She jolted a bit, realizing she was staring at her.

 _Did he win?_ She signed.

 _"For now."_ GLaDOS sighed. _"But it'll be alright. I'll prevent him from screwing us all over and fix you."_

_Can't be fixed. Johnson died, if he died what chance do I have?_

_"He was a lot older than you, and he didn't know until it was too late. I can fix this."_ She argued. Oh how she _hated_ the part of her where Caroline rested. That foolish hopefulness, the attachment, it was terrible. How did humans live like this? _"Wheatley will allow me access to supplies that will let me save you."_

Chell closed her eyes. _I trusted him once._ She signed. _I trusted him, and now look at me. Bloody and poisoned. He put you in a potato because I was foolish enough to-_

 _"Stop."_ GLaDOS snapped. _"You had no one else, how could you not trust him? He made you a promise, that you two would leave together, and he broke it. And I'm going to give him hell for it."_

Chell opened her eyes, then reached to grip GLaDOS's hand, signing with the other. _Just promise me one thing._

_"What?"_

_If I do die, I want to see the surface. Just one time, can you try to convince him to do that one thing for me?_

GLaDOS felt a fresh wave of hate for the personality core. If he hadn't betrayed her, if he didn't try to kill her, _if he bothered to care in the first damn place,_ Chell wouldn't be laying here, so hopeless and weak. She wouldn't be asking her to convince him to let her see the surface one time.

GLaDOS gently squeezed Chell's hand.

 _"I'll do my best."_ She would make sure Chell saw the surface at least once, if she had to force that little blue idiot to let them out, she'd do it.

Even if she had to destroy him for it to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GLaDOS is very much not okay with being attached to Chell.  
> One big difference between Wheatley and GLaDOS is that GLaDOS had control. She knew what she consciously wanted and she knew how to keep her unconscious desires under control so she didn't do anything stupid. Wheatley doesn't know what he wants now, after seeing what he did to Chell, and he can't keep his emotions in control like GLaDOS can. When he shocked her, that was not intentional on his part whatsoever, it was more so anger and the unconscious desire to inflict pain on her. Wheatley has no control over his own emotions, so expect a lot more emotional outbursts like this when GLaDOS keeps pushing him.  
> Something I need to make clear: both Wheatley AND Chell were using each other as a means to escape, but they got attached to each other. Part of Wheatley KNOWS he was using Chell, and he SHOULD feel guilty for betraying her, but the mainframe is corrupting him the same way it corrupted GLaDOS.  
> It's gonna get a whole lot worse before it gets better, so buckle up.


	3. A Totally Friendly Conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> GLaDOS and Wheatley have a..."friendly"...conversation.

GLaDOS glared at the moron as she walked back into his chamber. She had _carefully_ dosed Chell with anesthesia, treated her injuries and started looking for ways to treat her poisoning. Wheatley sat going through old security footage, and she recognized the sound of cheering. She circled around him slowly, peering over his shoulder.

 _A scientist's daughter grinned, holding the first prize ribbon for_ _the umpteenth time. She'd been attending these little "science fairs" and winning every year since she was old enough to walk. Since a few years ago, her plants weren't getting as big, but this sprout easily towered over anyone else's. Messily scrawled letters that read "The effects of my favorite music on a plant" was almost obstructed, the only thing clearly seen being the name "Chell."_

"She was a pretty smart kid, huh? Although I will mention she should have _multiple_ plants, not just one. Control and test groups and all that." Wheatley suddenly spoke up. GLaDOS barely registered it, attention on the video.

 _Suddenly_ _alarms began to ring through the room, an almost invisible gas seeping from the vents into the room. People screamed, scientist ordered GLaDOS to see what was wrong, another demanded she stop flooding the room with neurotoxin. A scruffy man was able to pull Chell out and away, the only two to slip out before GLaDOS closed off the room entirely. A single word was spoken by the AI._

_"Goodbye."_

Wheatley quickly turned off the video before he could see what happened next, but GLaDOS already knew. Within five minutes, everyone in that room had either died or was about to. Children, faculty. GLaDOS hadn't cared. It wasn't the only room she flooded with neurotoxin. She killed them all, and honestly that fact that Chell had managed to survive was nothing short of a miracle.

"You knew her before..."

 _"She killed me? Yes."_ GLaDOS forced emotion down. _"I never found any other survivors."_

"Where did you...what happened after that? Where was Morality?"

 _"It was just after I forced you off me. You were next to Morality, I injured her while pulling you off, so she was being repaired."_ She explained. _"Intelligence and Curiosity realized Chell had survived, and begged me to let her back on. I allowed it, because I thought everyone was dead. Then I found her."_ GLaDOS walked away, finding a place to sit and recharge. _"Strange enough, she was the first on the list as a test subject, so I gave her a room and a companion cube. I would have likely killed her if not for Morality immediately stepping in."_

"Do you feel guilty?"

 _"...at the time I didn't. But I do now. It's no wonder she never speaks, if she even can."_ GLaDOS blinked at Wheatley, who seemed to be in a state of shock. The personality core cleared his throat.

"I guess I should...reactivate them. To help."

 _"You'll have to put them in new bodies. She incinerated them trying to kill me."_ It felt _so nice_ to see Wheatley's face immediately morph into horror. _"Don't worry. Their memories and personalities were backed up. You can literally input a simple command and new bodies will be created automatically. Or you can put them right back in their android bodies, since those were made but never used."_

"Will they be angry?"

 _"I have no doubt Anger will, Curiosity will probably feel hurt, but Intelligence and Morality were always hard to read."_ She watched amused as he tried to figure out how to back up the data onto the androids. _"I'll show you what to do later, I need to charge first. Being put in a_ potato _was_ horrid _for my battery, thank you very much."_

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Before you do, could I ask you to do something when you wake up?"

_"Do I have a choice?"_

"No, not really. Uh, could you maybe teach me sign language?"

GLaDOS stared at Wheatley, who shifted uncomfortably. _Is this a joke?_

_"...why?"_

"I just...want to be able to understand her." He looked even more uncomfortable. "Look, the itch...the itch is gone for now. I want to talk to her and understand her before it comes back."

 _"Almost killing your friend satisfied you."_ GLaDOS sneered in disgust. _"Oh wait, you never were-"_

" _Don't._ " He snapped. "Just...please, GLaDOS."

_"...Only if you do something for her."_

He blinked in surprise, but motioned for GLaDOS to continue. A flash of Chell's hopeless expression, of her request, flashed across her vision and she took a deep breath she didn't need.

_"Take her to the surface."_

"...what?" Wheatley sounded genuinely surprised. "That-that's...no...no super weird things that'll kill me? No wanting to give you back control?"

_"She thinks she's going to die."_

"She's not. She won't. You'll save her, right?" His voice sounded frantic, which GLaDOS didn't understand. _He doesn't care about her. He wanted to kill her._

"Wheatley," GLaDOS sighed. Had she ever used his name before? _"I'm going to be completely honest, alright? We never found a cure for this stuff, not that I remember, and I and the rest of us cores are not medical personnel. I'll work the best I can, but no promises. She wanted me to ask you in case she can't be saved. She just wants to see the surface_ one _time."_ She glared at him, eyes darkening.

"I..."

 _"You **promised** her. You **promised** you'd leave together, you **promised you'd see the surface together.** "_ She snarled, eyes blazing as she advanced on Wheatley. One hand on each side of the chassis, she leaned down dangerously close. She was already a good half a foot taller than him, and she towered over him even now. She was not afraid of this _runt_ , and refused to let him _even think_ she was.

Wheatley swallowed hard. "I-I..."

" _Please_." GLaDOS added. _"Please, just..."_

"I-I'll think about it." He said softly. "I promise, I'll consider it at least."

 _Are your promises worth anything?_ GLaDOS wondered, heading to the opposite side of the room and settling in a corner. He had turned away from her, still going through old videos. _I don't think they are. But I think you'll do anything to save your sorry skin, and I can work with that._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this one is so short, but I realized for the purpose here it had to be.  
> The chapter is centered on their conversation, and you're meant to focus only on that and nothing else. Particularly, the power GLaDOS has over Wheatley.  
> I said it last chapter, I'll say it again. GLaDOS knows what she's doing, on or off the chassis. She is smart, cruel, and calculating, she knows how to manipulate Wheatley to do what she wants. And what she wants is for the guilt to eat him from the inside out, but she also wants him to make Chell feel better because she thinks Chell deserves it after his betrayal.  
> Wheatley is acting like, well, "himself", because right now he's a bit distracted so he's not experiencing the Itch or the chassis's influence on him. This makes it easier for GLaDOS to scare him into submission.  
> Next chapter we'll have a little bit of a timeskip, and all three will interact as one big happy fucking family. :)


	4. The Oracle's Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Curiosity and Chell chat.
> 
> The Oracle gives Wheatley some advice.

It'd been about four days since Chell was...injured.

Needless to say when she awoke and was lucid again, she was quite surprised to see _all_ the cores active in android bodies.

When she had woken up, a woman with long, black hair, glasses and formal attire had been there, reading silently. Her dark purple eyes were a dead give away, but introducing herself had confirmed all Chell needed to know.

When she had awoken, the woman had stopped reading and looked up. With little emotion, she had said.

_"Hello, Chell, it's been a while, hasn't it? Although you shouldn't be able to recognize me in this form. My name is Morality."_

Morality apparently kept close to Wheatley, performing the same purpose she had for GLaDOS: Keeping him under control. She helped keep away the Itch, helped in keeping him on the right track and apparently was acting as a sort of councilor.

The personality core, Morality explained, was borderline mad, constantly fighting between his own emotions and...well, what morals he _did_ have, and the influence the chassis had on him. She helped him keep control.

Intelligence(who Chell silently called "Cake", since she vividly remembered him spewing out a cake recipe before she killed him) visited next. He, too, was very quiet, but had specified he, Curiosity and Morality were not angry she'd killed them.

 _GLaDOS was._ She had signed. _Why aren't you angry, too?_

 _"For one, she tried to kill you multiple times in a row, starting with trying to burn you_ _alive. For all intensive purposes, it well self-defense."_ He had replied. _"For two, no one gains anything by being angry."_

Next it was Curiosity, who seemed to have completely forgotten about the whole burning her alive thing. She'd even brought a scorched companion cube with her, and had hugged her tightly. It made Chell feel even worse about destroying her. Curiosity was so...well, curious, and so very child-like. She kinda reminded her of the Space Core she'd attached to Wheatley trying to make him corrupt.

Currently Curiosity sat next to her, fiddling with a rubix cube. Anger hadn't bothered to come see her, which Chell was grateful for. She flipped through a pretty basic book, _Ten Little Soldier Boys_. A darker one, but pretty good. Even Wheatley seemed to enjoy it, and he didn't read a lot. Chell wondered if it was because of the "cute" rhyme.

"Hey, Chell, can I ask a question?"

Chell hummed as a "yes".

"Why don't you talk?"

 _Oh boy._ The woman put the book down, frowning. Curiosity met her eyes, and the core suddenly looked sad.

"...can you talk?" She asked quietly. "GLaDOS said she thought you refused to spite her. But I don't think she believes that's the case anymore."

Chell sighed, signing slowly. She wasn't sure how much sign language Curiosity could understand, and she was easily distracted anyway. _I don't know. At first there was no one to talk to, GLaDOS was never one for conversation, Wheatley wasn't around at that time._ She paused, sighing again. _I remember...a little. I think I remember screaming and sobbing my throat raw after she...you know. I never spoke again._

Chell didn't realize she was crying until Curiosity gripped her hands. "I remember that day, Wheatley was with us just before it happened. She tore him off and hurt Morality in the process." She said, uncharacteristically quiet. "We...Intelligence and I... noticed someone got out, so we begged her to bring Mortality back on when she was fixed. I think she would have finished the job if not for her."

Chell closed her eyes. _I wouldn't have lived if not for these guys. And I destroyed them. I didn't feel anything for it, no guilt, no remorse. I didn't even hesitate._ Part of her tried to rationalize that she didn't know they were sentient. But then again, she didn't think turrets were sentient either, and the oracle turret proved that wrong.

Curiosity squeezed her hands gently, and smiled at her. "Hey, I think Intelligence is baking, wanna go see if he'll let us lick the spoon?"

Chell laughed. It wasn't much, but it was a distraction, a distraction from the pain and the guilt.

 _Sure._ She signed.

____________________________________

_"Hello."_

That turret, that _damn_ turret, terrified him. It spoke in lines not programmed into it, it claimed to be different, it chirped and sung while the others were on strict patrol.

Morality had suggested he disconnected himself and wander around a bit to clear his head. The fact he could go wireless was a surprise, but it was a welcome one. He was tired of sitting in that room all day and looking at the sky while trying to figure out how to fix it.

In any case, the...whatever grills had been shut down when he took over, leaving the turret free to wander around.

"I thought she destroyed you." Last time he checked it was on the turret redemption line. "How did you get away?"

_"She's different. You're different."_

_That one's new._ A chill ran down his spine as the turret continued.

 _"Her name is Caroline. Don't forget that."_ She chirped.

"I know. Do you have any new material?"

_"Zeus was abandoned by the gods as an infant and raised by a human."_

"What does _that_ mean?" Wheatley snapped, getting frustrated.

_"The answer is beneath us."_

"Just give me a straight answer!"

 _"Can you imagine forgiveness?"_ The turret suddenly asked. He froze. The turret blinked slowly at his lack of response.

"F...forgiveness?" He asked.

_"She can forgive."_

"GLaDOS forgives _nothing._ "

_"Not Caroline."_

"There's _nothing_ for Chell to forgive!" He scoffed. " _I_ wasn't going to abandon her! I was _trying_ to _help_ her, I _saved_ her and what thanks do _I_ get? None! Not even a "Are you okay?" after _she_ tried to murder me for my efforts!"

"Kinda hard to thank you or ask if you're okay when she can't speak." Wheatley jumped, turning to Intelligence, who was leaning against a wall, staring at him. 

"...oh, hi." He suddenly felt like a child in trouble for being mean and he hated that feeling. Intelligence was wearing an apron, but it didn't make him look any less stern.

"I assure you. Chell has never spoken, to any of us. It isn't just you." He continued before looking at the turret. "Wise one, that one is. Almost an oracle of sorts."

"A...a what?"

"Oracle: Noun. 1. A priest or priestess acting as a medium through whom advice or prophecy was sought from the gods in classical antiquity. Synonyms: Prophet, Prophetess, See-"

"Okay, okay, I get it-"

" _Do you really_?" He asked. "She _is_ different, she gives warnings and information, even if only in a cryptic way." Intelligence's voice was stern, and Wheatley found himself flinching. He looked at his feet, not wanting to meet his eyes. "And Chell has _plenty_ to forgive: _Betraying_ her, trying to _kill_ her _multiple_ times in a row, trying to _blow her up_. Don't worry, we were caught up on everything. You did save her, that's _one thing_. You stopped GLaDOS from killing her, and I'm sure she's grateful. But you used her for something you _didn't even get_ in the end. I will admit, she did the same, but the difference between _you_ and _her_ is she's willing to _apologize_ and _forgive. Are you?_ "

 _"Don't leave her."_ The newly dubbed oracle chirped. _"Don't leave her."_

"I'd take that turret with you." He advised, eyes cold. "You haven't proven to me or Emotion that you _deserve_ our help or advice, but she's _willing_ to help. You may be in charge, _but you have no control_. And you will not have control until you figure out what you want and separate it from what you need to do."

He nodded pathetically, and Intelligence started to walk away. Wheatley bit his lip before speaking up. "Intelligence, wait."

The core paused.

"Is..." He took a breath. "Is it true? What GLaDOS says? That we're all..."

"Human?"

He nodded.

"...yes, she doesn't lie about that. I think I'm the only one who remembers life as a human." He replied. "All of us were human once, except the turrets, maybe." Intelligence glanced at the Oracle. "You were kind, you know. A bit goofy, not too smart, but you loved everyone. I never thought you'd end up like _her_."

He flinched.

"...Chell is with Curiosity in her "room" if you want to talk to her." He advised. "I'll only say this once, _talk to her_ if you want any chance at making things better."

"I....I will."

Chell and Curiosity were both eating, and talking, about cake when Wheatley found them. That explained why Intelligence was in an apron, at least.

"We "digest" food by basically incinerating it internally after consuming it." Curiosity was explaining. "It's not really necessary but for some reason we were programmed able to taste so it's nice every once in a while."

Chell raised her hands to sign something back, but then noticed Wheatley standing there. _Moment of truth._

Remembering what GLaDOS taught him, he raised his hands.

 _"GLaDOS is teaching me how to sign."_ He spoke slowly as he signed, just in case he screwed it up.

Chell sat up a little straighter in interest.

_How much? A lot or a little?_

_"I know enough for a conversation."_ He replied. _"I wanted to be able to understand you."_

_Why?_

Wheatley swallowed hard. Now or never. "...So I can apologize?" Curiosity cringed at how that sounded. "That...wasn't supposed to be a question. I am apologizing. I'm sorry."

There were a few moments before Chell began to reply.

 _I don't think you are, yet._ Wheatley opened his mouth to protest, but she made a sharp gesture. Remembering how easily she almost beat him, he quickly shut his mouth. _Listen._ _I think you do feel a lot of guilt, but I don't think you feel sorry. I don't think you quite grasp what you've done and how it hurts. I know I need to apologize too, but I'm not ready for that, and neither are you._ She took a deep breath to steel her nerves. _If you're really sorry, prove it, and stop avoiding me like a coward. This is the first time you've spoken to me in four days. Where the fuck were you the first day when I was so insistent I was going to die?_ A look of pure anger had crossed her face. Wheatley forced himself not to look away.

"I..."

_Were you in denial?_

"I think I'm gonna go." Curiosity suddenly pipped up. "I'll tell Intelligence you like the cake, and say hi to GLaDOS and Morality for you."

Chell nodded a thanks, eyes never leaving Wheatley's. The core waited for her to leave before sighing, kneeling to make eye contract since Chell had finally looked down.

"Is there...anything...I can do?" He asked. "To show you I'm genuine?"

He reached for his hand, wanting to comfort her. _I'm still your friend, aren't I? Can't we still be friends?_ He wondered.

She yanked her hand away, looking up at him.

_Don't leave me alone again, please. Just...just stay with me, I'll even come back to the Chassis. I don't want to be alone._

It suddenly occurred to him that when Curiosity, who visited the most often since GLaDOS was usually showing him how to handle things if she wasn't treating her injuries and Intelligence was usually only there to help, wasn't there, she was usually alone. 

He had only known Chell a few days before he betrayed her, and he hadn't thought that being with him for such a short time would make her need social interaction when she was otherwise alone for her entire life.

"Why? Don't you hate me?"

Chell stared at him a moment and he covered his mouth. _You don't think before speaking, do you?_ She asked. _In any case, I don't hate you. I'm angry, but after seeing how GLaDOS acts when she's not attached to that thing, I understand that this is partially the mainframe's influence. If you were really evil, Morality wouldn't be helping you. I think I can give you another chance._

The glare she gave Wheatley suddenly made him feel very, very tiny.

_Just don't blow it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to be clear:  
> YES. Chell is still VERY MUCH PISSED at Wheatley. Intelligence and Anger are pretty pissed, too, but Morality is willing to work with him and as long as she is, Chell is willing to give him another chance. Out of everyone, Morality and Intelligence would be the ones to know if there's ANY chance, and neither have outright told her that there's no chance for him to turn around. Intelligence doesn't think Wheatley deserves his help, but he does still think there's a shot for him to deserve that help. He's just waiting for him to admit he's wrong.  
> GLaDOS and Emotion don't think he has a chance, but then again they're more emotional than everyone else.  
> Just a note, Chell is also alone a lot. GLaDOS has to help Wheatley figure out how to run the place, Intelligence is focused more on their rations and Chell's physical health so they don't talk much, either. Morality mostly stays in Wheatley's "lair" to keep the Itch at bay and prevent him from doing something stupid and, well, Emotion/Anger is pretty pissed at Chell for the whole "burning them alive" thing. (Morality, Curiosity and Intelligence also just want to put it in the past, it's been 50,000 years since it happened). Curiosity does like to hang out with cores who can actually reply, too, so she's not around on a consistent basis. Chell doesn't want to be alone, which is why she's not outright rejecting Wheatley's "apology". Like I said, I do want to sort of "Rewrite" Portal 2 with androids, but it'd be like a few days before they wake up GLaDOS and Wheatley betrays her, and as a human(a naturally social species) she's suddenly not okay with being alone. I'd say since the start of this it's been about 8 and a half days.  
> We're heading back down next chapter, so buckle up.

**Author's Note:**

> Wheatley has chaotic dumbass energy, but while he's not that bright he IS observant enough to notice that Chell was planning something and had the sense to kick the portal gun out of her reach. One reason I made this an android AU was for better mobility, but also because it makes expressing emotions a lot easier. Wheatley and GLaDOS are also just 100 times scarier to me when they're humoid instead of being spheres. Imagine Wheatley's laugh turning evil after being connected to the mainframe, but he looks like a human. Body language matters a lot in those situations, and I feel emotion through body language is easier to get across sometimes, especially if the current POV character can't see another character's face. Who knows, maybe one day I'll write Portal 2 out as humanoids(or draw it as a comic)  
> One thing here is when I first saw playthroughs, I don't think Wheatley wanted to kill you deep down. I think it was something he "wanted" but would have instantly regretted after the "euphoria" of winning faded.  
> One thing I think is great about Portal is that, just looking at the first and second game and some known lore, there's a lot of room to be creative. Was Wheatley corrupted by GLaDOS's body or was this all in his plan? He and Chell were using each other to escape but was there any bonding or affection between them? Was Wheatley's apology at the end of Portal 2, while he's in space, genuine? Is Chell Caroline and Cave's daughter? I think some of this is up to interpretation and I really enjoy that.


End file.
